This invention relates generally to electrical connectors and more specifically to insert molded electrical connectors having multiple contacts.
Insert molded electrical connectors as the name implies comprise an outer molded housing of insulating material and an insert which is placed in the mold when the outer insulator housing is molded. The insert is generally molded from a thermoplastic insulating material and the usual function of the insert is to hold the electric contacts in the desired position in the final mold.
The electric contacts themselves may be insert molded in the insert and the resulting subassembly then molded over with an outer housing of insulating material as in the case of the household type plug which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,434 granted to Wallace R. Francis June 11, 1963. Such a construction is perfectly acceptable in a household or similar environment.
On the other hand the electrical contacts may be loaded into a premolded insert and the resulting subassembly then molded over with an outer housing of insulating material for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,708 granted to Richard H. Griffin Mar. 23, 1976 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,630 granted to Lyle B. Suverison and William R. Beck Aug. 23, 1977. These type constructions are generally used for electrical connectors having several electrical contacts which are used in harsher environments.
In either case it is difficult to provide a good seal between the electric cables attached to the electrical contacts and the outer molded insulator housing particularly when the electrical connector has several electric cables and is going to be used in a harsh environment such as the engine compartment of an automobile.